Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world by land area.

And unlike our somewhat sparsely populated neighbor to the north,

which ranks second in size but 38th in population,

it's also the fifth most populous country. It's the world's

ninth largest economy and is home to one of the most important ecosystems on the planet,

the Amazon rainforest. It's also one of the most racially diverse countries in the world

with the largest black population outside of Africa. America is number two. But demographic truisms

are not why American newspapers broke from their relative indifference to international affairs to focus on Brazil last year.

Nor are they why we're talking about Brazil today?

The reason American eyes returned on Brazil last year was a

national election with eerie parallels to the one we went through in 2016. It resulted

in the election of Jayap Bolsonaro, a man sometimes referred to as the Donald Trump of Brazil.

Bolsonaro has been dubbed the Trump of the Tropics because of the rhetoric and policies the two leaders share.

In 2014, he argued with a lawmaker and after pushing her yelled,

I would not rape you because you're not worthy of it.

In a 2011 interview with Playboy, he said he'd rather his son die in a car accident than be gay.

These red outcasts will be banished from our homeland.

It will be a cleansing never seen in Brazilian history.

The comparison works in some ways but not in others.

As my guest on this episode, Michael Brooks of the Michael Brooks show and Leandro de

D'Mori, a journalist for the Intercept Brazil, we'll discuss in a bit.

But what is absolutely true is that ultra-nationalism and the anti-democratic influence of oligarchy

...